Strap buckles have been in common use for many years. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 1,234,818 (1917), which describes a buckle mounted on a strap. The user threads the end of the strap around the object being secured, through the buckle past a movable member, and then back the other direction through the buckle past an adjacent, fixed member. This action holds the strap in position within the buckle, forming a loop around the object being secured. Tension is added by pulling on the strap end. Some newer devices utilize fixed buckle members oriented such that they pinch the strap to maintain tension. The end of the strap is pulled to increase tension, but the buckle member orientation prevents movement of the strap in the opposite direction. Other devices employ spring-loaded cams or ratchets to maintain tension on a strap.
In spite of their widespread use, these devices share common problems, namely: (a) the user must locate the end of the strap and then thread it all the way through the buckle in a first direction, and some devices require the user to thread it back again through the buckle in the opposite direction, (b)—tension can be difficult to release because the release mechanism is typically located along the centerline of the strap, and thus offers little leverage for this purpose, (c)—even after tension is released, the strap must be fully withdrawn in one or both directions from the buckle before the strap can be removed from the object being secured.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a buckle that allows loading the strap onto the buckle without having to thread the entire strap in one or both directions through the buckle. It would be further advantageous to provide a buckle that offers an easy to release structure. It would be further advantageous to provide a buckle that allows for ease of removal of the buckle.